Area News

State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa wrote a strongly worded letter to Peñitas Mayor Rodrigo “Rigo” Lopez last week, admonishing the city for keeping people on the payroll after they pleaded guilty to corruption charges. The decision to keep Public Works Director Andres “Andy” Morales and former City Manager Omar Romero on the payroll after they…

Mission City Council candidate Joe Vargas is back on the ballot. The city removed Vargas from the ballot in February, when City Attorney Gus Martinez determined that Vargas had missed the deadline to change his address from McAllen to Mission. Vargas responded with a lawsuit. State District Judge Marla Cuellar settled the matter on Friday:…

La Joya City Secretary Julianita Sabala, who faithfully chronicled City Council meetings for more than two decades, retired Monday to spend more time with her family. Mayor Isidro Casanova and the City Council thanked Julianita R. Sabala, 71, of La Joya for her “outstanding and dedicated service” during a meeting last month. “I’ll always be…

The La Joya Independent School District terminated an agreement with Performance Services Inc. on Monday amid a federal investigation. Trustees voted to stop paying Performance Services Inc. to monitor Phase II of a nearly $36.6 million “energy savings” project. They terminated the contract after documents filed in federal court linked the company — and La…

Valley residents have less than a week to voice how border wall construction has impacted their lives before U.S. Customs and Border Protection develops an environmental assessment for a proposed 86-mile “border barrier.” In January, CBP issued a letter seeking input on the environmental impacts of the proposed construction, operation and maintenance of a “border…

  Concerned about corruption at Peñitas City Hall, a crowd packed the local library Monday to watch the City Council meeting. Mayor Rodrigo “Rigo” Lopez and the City Council said the Pledge of Allegiance. They prayed for guidance from God to “make the right decisions for our city.” And, without any discussion, they scheduled a…

The city of Mission removed a City Council candidate from the ballot Thursday after questions surfaced about his voter registration. City Attorney Gus Martinez determined that City Council candidate Joe Vargas — who co-owns Apple Pharmacy with City Councilman Alberto “Beto” Vela — missed the deadline to change his voter registration from McAllen to Mission.…

Two consultants with political connections abruptly resigned from the city of Palmview during the past two months. Juliana Q. Garza — the wife of former La Joya school board Trustee Armin Garza — quit her $2,500 per month consulting job in January, when her husband pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States. La…

A former administrator for Hidalgo County EMS took nearly $195,000 from the struggling company, according to documents filed in federal bankruptcy court. Edgar Diaz — an administrator for Hidalgo County EMS, a privately owned ambulance company that declared bankruptcy and shut down last year — admitted in a settlement agreement that he misappropriated the money.…

The McAllen City Commission caught a glimpse Thursday of how population growth in North McAllen will drive the redistricting process. Attorney C. Robert Heath of Austin walked the City Commission through the numbers on Thursday morning. The U.S. Census showed the population of District 1, which covers northeast McAllen, had grown to 31,000 people during…